Rangers sign Mark Canha to minor-league deal, eye extra right-handed bat

Mark Canha agreed to a minor-league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training and reported to the Rangers’ camp in Surprise, Arizona the same morning he turned 37. The club announced the signing Sunday, a move framed as bolstering Triple-A depth at Round Rock while also putting a veteran right-handed bat into competition for big-league bench work.

Canha arrives after a difficult 2025 that included two injured-list stints for a left adductor/abductor strain and left tennis elbow inflammation, limited time with the Kansas City Royals and his release on Aug. 21, 2025. Last season he hit .212 in 46 MLB games; the same stint is also reported as a .212/.272/.265 line in 125 plate appearances. He spent the final six weeks of the campaign at home in Phoenix following the injuries.

The 37-year-old outfielder/first baseman brings a long track record: 11 major-league seasons and 1,095 career games, a career slash of .248/.346/.409 with 121 home runs and 465 RBIs, and a 2018–2024 aggregate of .253/.361/.415 with a 120 wRC+. Between 2019 and 2023 he compiled 13.1 bWAR and a .370 on-base percentage; he has posted a wRC+ of 101 or better in every season in which he reached at least 200 plate appearances. Canha is also a two-time MLB leader in being hit by pitches, with 27 HBP in 2021 and 28 in 2022, and a career total of 141 HBPs.

The Rangers enter Spring Training with 66 players in camp - all 40 on the 40-man roster plus 26 non-roster invitees - and a lineup that currently features Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Brandon Nimmo in the outfield. Bench options noted as in-house include Michael Helman, Sam Haggerty and Alejandro Osuna, and internal first-base reps have leaned on Jake Burger. With higher-priced targets like Austin Hays and Miguel Andújar signing guaranteed big-league deals of at least $4 million elsewhere, the club opted for an economical veteran addition; the signing immediately made Canha the leading candidate to be the extra right-handed bat on the roster or depth for Round Rock.

Canha framed the move and his offseason mindset plainly upon arrival, noting the sting of being DFA’d and his decision to continue: "I think Mark Canha is still in there." He also described the moment the Rangers called and asked him to travel to Surprise: "All right, it's go time, let's go to start Spring Training." Those quotes underline a veteran drive to re-establish value after injury-shortened 2025.

From a roster-construction and business perspective, the signing is low-cost insurance with upside: if Canha can approach his 2024 mark of roughly .242/.344/.346 (101 wRC+), he provides matchup value against left-handed pitching - he posted a 123 wRC+ vs. lefties in 2024 - and a seasoned presence for Round Rock and the big-league bench. The risk remains his health and age at 37, but the Rangers appear content to let Spring Training and camp evaluators decide whether this veteran insurance converts into a tangible roster role.